


That Damn Royalist Story

by OurImpavidHeroine



Series: The Abdication of Hou-Ting LIV or: How Wu Learned to Stop Being Foolish and Love the Detective [21]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Multi, Non comic-compliant, Post-Canon, full of OCs so don't bother if you haven't read the rest of my work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:47:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29372571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OurImpavidHeroine/pseuds/OurImpavidHeroine
Summary: Ah, the Royalist story I have been hoping to write for years. For right now I'll just keep this as a collection of fics that allude to it; perhaps one day they will morph into the story itself. Consider this a placeholder.
Series: The Abdication of Hou-Ting LIV or: How Wu Learned to Stop Being Foolish and Love the Detective [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/214289
Comments: 26
Kudos: 15





	That Damn Royalist Story

It’s not like she didn’t think that bringing an actual dragon baby home wasn’t going to cause a fuss. She wasn’t that naive, after all. She figured Papa, for one, would have hysterics and so he did, taking one look at Hemadri nosing about the courtyard and then out came his fan as he sputtered and Daddy had to come and grab at him so he wouldn’t fall down.

“Naoki Hou-Ting! What on earth is the meaning of this! One does not simply…simply…well, simply stroll in with a draconic infant! You return them immediately where you found them!”

Like what, she was just going to head back somehow to the Sun Warriors and hand her over? She didn’t even know how to get there! It was Druk who got them there and then took them away! And besides, it wasn’t as if she had stolen Hemadri, after all. Hemadri had stolen her, if everyone was going to start pointing fingers and snapping their fans around about it. She tried to explain to Papa - even Sozui tried to explain to Papa! - that Hemadri was a queen dragon and that even Ran and Shaw did what she said, it didn’t really matter that she was just a baby, but Papa was way too worked up for any of that, he just kept waving his fan at her and yelling things about protocol and what would Izumi say and wars have been declared over less and so many _I nevers_ that she was surprised he didn’t faint straight away. Finally Daddy, with a grim expression, practically picked Papa up and hauled him towards the stairs and took him away to their bedroom, but not before giving her that look that meant _Naoki, we_ _’ll be talking about all of this later._

Hemadri didn’t care abut Papa yelling at all, she had found her way to the kitchen, and by the time she caught up with her she was sitting on LoLo’s lap, eating a dumpling, looking very pleased with herself while LoLo scritched at her chin whiskers and talked baby talk to her, much to Lin’s obvious disgust.

“Old man, don’t talk to her like that, she’s a dragon, for fuck’s sake, not some titless wanking poodle monkey.”

LoLo just ignored her, though, as Hemadri wriggled around in his arms, headbutting his chin with her little horn buds and making that sort of rumbly motor noise she did when she was happy. “Who’s a beautiful baby dragon? You are! You are! Does LoLo’s beautiful little golden girl want another dumpling? Yes she does! What a pretty golden girl she is!”

She was going to say something really funny about it but instead she started crying, which was super embarrassing, especially since Sozui was hovering over her shoulder. At that point Hemadri slithered out of LoLo’s lap and zipped right over to her, winding up her body to reach out her tongue to taste her tears.

 _< <_ **You have the sea coming from your eyes again ,** _> >_ Hemadri said in her head, and then she turned to Lin. By the very surprised look on Lin’s face, she figured Hemadri had said something into her head as well. She didn’t blame Lin for being surprised. When it first started happening to her, she thought she was losing her marbles.

“I’m the matriarch of this house, not you.” Lin was glaring at the dragon now. “I won’t be taking any orders from you, especially not when it comes to Naoki.”

Hemadri hissed at this, but Lin was not impressed. She could have told Hemadri that Lin was never impressed with anyone who thought they could boss her around but she was too busy crying over nothing at all, really. She wasn’t even sure why she was crying, just that it was happening and she didn’t know what to do about it and she really wanted Qi to be there to tell her it was going to be okay. But then LoLo was there, and he put his arms around her and kissed her on her forehead, and told her he thought maybe a good night’s sleep was called for. And the next thing she knew she was being hustled upstairs and into bed and she didn’t think she was going to be able to sleep but suddenly Hemadri was there, curled around her back, and when she woke up it was daylight outside and she was feeling a little bit better, at least.

Everyone was home now except for Zhi, who was still coming back with Rohan and Uncle Huan and the rest from the Northern Air Temple and Meili, who was still on a boat from the South Pole, being escorted by Tonraq, and Qi, who had made sure Papa was safe and sound in Zaofu before disappearing somewhere, something she could tell was upsetting all of the adults. It upset her as well, but she thought that of any of them, Qi would be fine. They’d show up when they were good and ready, like they always did. When she finally came downstairs she found everyone was already in the middle of eating lunch outside on the terrace. Sozui stood up really fast and yanked her chair out for her with a huge scraping noise that meant everyone turned and stared at them and she gave him a dirty look. If this was the kind of thing a boy was going to do if you kissed him just once then they were going to have some words, _for sure_.

Papa cleared his throat. “Sozui was explaining to us how the dragon has come to be in your company.” He had clearly calmed down a lot from the night before but he was still giving her the beady eye, alright.

She shrugged. “So you can see it was not my fault.”

Papa’s mouth and eyes got all thin at that. “I am to believe, then, that you had no idea whatsoever that an actual dragon was ensconced in your luggage?”

“Well, it was more like a bag but no. I didn’t know.” This was a flat out lie, of course. Which, by the nasty glare Papa was giving her, he totally knew. He just sniffed and took another sip of his tea, though.

“It is of no matter. Tenzin was kind enough to contact Izumi first thing this morning for me and informed her that we have Sozui safely with us-” Sozui turned red and stared down at his soup “-and Iroh is on his way to collect him.” Papa turned towards Sozui then. “I assume that we can entrust the dragon with your uncle so that she may be safely returned to her home.”

Sozui looked up at that one. “Uh, Wu. We can’t really return her. I mean…” He swallowed, really hard. “We can’t actually go to where the Sun Warriors are. Nobody knows how to get there, only the leader of the Fire Shamans. And not even my grandmother can tell the Fire Shamans what to do.”

Papa tapped his fan on the table, which was never a good sign. “Then we will send her to Izumi. As the Firelord she may make the decision as to what to do with her.”

“Uh,” Sozui started, but he didn’t get any further because Papa jumped in his chair and dropped his fan, his eyes practically coming out of his head.

“Goodness,” he said, and the look on his face was so funny she started to laugh but Daddy gave her the hairy eyeball and she pinched her own leg to shut herself up. Papa got up from his chair and turned to where Hemadri was sitting, curled up on the stone bench under the plum tree. “We might accommodate you now, my lady, but in time you will get quite considerably larger and then where will we be?” Papa was speaking to her like he couldn’t decide if she was one of the uppity old Ba Sing Se noble ladies that sometimes came to visit or if she was Meili, being naughty. It was pretty funny, but she didn’t dare laugh. Papa would _murder_ her if she did. “I am afraid that I simply have no idea what kind of care a full-grown dragon requires, never mind one as young as yourself.” Papa frowned. “And does your mother know where you are?” He listened, and then frowned even harder. “Be that as it may, I can hardly think you had permission to leave. And you may be a queen but young queens require supervision.”

“For the love of fucking Raava,” Lin muttered, massaging her forehead with her fingers. “This is my life.”

Papa crossed his arms over his chest. “I will thank you not to speak to me that way, young lady.” Uh oh, Hemadri was in for it now. When Papa started _young ladying_ you it was all over.

“Is your father scolding the dragon?” Sozui looked like he wanted to die.

“She better get used to it,” she replied. She knew for a fact that Papa felt perfectly fine scolding anybody at all, dragon or no.

“Certainly not. Dragons do not reside in houses. If you are to stay here with us - and that is an if, I have not yet made that decision - then we will have to look into some renovations for you. Perhaps something can be done in the very back of the garden.” Papa perked up a little at that. “I would need to consult with someone from the Fire Nation at least, I’m sure my decorator wouldn’t have the first idea of your, shall we say, specific requirements.”

“Fuck me,” Daddy muttered and started to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Papa raised one finger. “I have not said yes. I will need to discuss this with Iroh, at the very least, and with Izumi as well. Certainly you cannot be left to your own devices all day.” Papa tapped at his chin. “If you were to stay I think a tutor would be appropriate, one that could teach you proper comportment and history, that sort of thing.” He blinked. “On the contrary. You are a queen, young lady, not some wolfbat to lay about in a filthy nest all day, doing spirits know what. Queens are educated and I see no reason why you should not be as well.”

Hemadri started to flap her stubby little wings and hiss, but Papa raised a single eyebrow at her and she stopped immediately, drooping into a sulk.

“This is exactly what I mean about proper comportment.” Papa tsked at her. “And there is one extremely important thing I need to make very clear. So long as you live in my home my koi are completely off limits. They are not for eating, nor may they be played with. You will leave them in peace. I am quite firm on this, and I suggest you do not try me.” Papa looked at his pond and then back at Hemadri, who flexed her wings and made a grunty noise. “Very well, then. I will discuss this with Iroh when he arrives. In the meanwhile, you may stay in the house with us but I expect behavior worthy of a queen, and that includes doing your business, as it were, outside. Do we have an accord?” Hemadri slithered quickly to Papa and wrapped herself about him. Papa’s cheeks turned a little bit pink. “Yes, well. You are a very nice dragonet and I understand you are fond of Naoki. But I must see to your upbringing properly if you are to stay. Yes?” Hemadri made her motor noise and headbutted Papa.

“What’s that ugly thing?” Bob was standing at the end of the terrace, wet, with a slimy piece of weed hanging off his head. He wrinkled up his nose. “Don’t like it. Don’t want it. Make it go. Shoo!” He flapped his hands just like Auntie Nuo and Hemadri reared back, hissing, before she flung herself off of Papa and headed straight for Bob, opening her mouth and shooting off the little bit of flame she could manage. Bob screamed and started to run back towards the pond, Hemadri chasing after him, hissing and roaring and coughing up little flame spurts. She chased him all the way to the pond, where Bob, still screaming, dove in, disappearing underneath. Hemadri, true to her promise, didn’t enter the pond, but she stomped along the edge of it, sounding like a boiling tea kettle.

“Hmmm,” Papa said, and then he smiled, taking his fan from the table, snapping it open and fanning himself. “Well, imagine that.” He motioned with his fan towards Hemadri. “Come here, my darling, and have a dumpling. We shall have to look into getting you some proper food, of course.”

Sozui’s Uncle Iroh showed up the day after that - he must have been close to Republic City, either that or he really hauled to get there - and he and Papa holed off in Papa’s study, discussing Hemadri, while Daddy grumped around and said _That fucking Iroh_ a lot and then the two of them went over to the Island for a day so they could radio the Firelord, and long story very, very short, the Firelord promised that a Fire Sage would come to give them guidance (the Firelord’s words, not hers) and then it was time for Sozui to go home and she was afraid he was going to get all sappy on her and sure enough, he did. He tried to kiss her! And look, it wasn’t that she didn’t find the entire idea of kissing a pretty interesting one but Sozui was getting some very big ideas about it and she needed to nip that happy shit in the bud, as Lin always said.

The next day Zhi arrived home and Papa, who hadn’t seen him since the day the Royalists kidnapped him away, grabbed him and cried so hard he got one of his headaches and had to go lay down for awhile. It wasn’t like Papa didn’t cry a lot, of course, but this was different. Papa kept kissing Zhi, over and over again, and Zhi cried too. And then she got to hug Zhi as well and tell him how sorry she was that she couldn’t keep him safe but Zhi said it wasn’t her fault, and then everyone was crying, even Daddy and Lin, a little bit. (LoLo cried so much he didn’t even bother to make dinner, he just called Chin’s and had them send a meal instead.) Daddy kept thanking Uncle Baatar and Uncle Huan and Ikki and Meelo and Rohan, especially, for keeping him safe and then Uncle Bolin and Auntie Opal showed up with the cousins and Zhi and San ran at each other and they held onto each other so tight that they fell onto the floor, still hugging, and wouldn’t let go of each other, not even over dinner, and nobody even asked if San wanted to stay the night, everybody just assumed he would.

But best of all, the next day Qi was home, they just walked in as everyone was eating breakfast, like it was no big deal at all, but Papa stood up and stared at them and didn’t say a word, his hands to his mouth and tears running down his face, and Qi said, very softly, _I told you I_ _’d be home, you know I’m good for my word,_ and then Daddy went to them and started to do that thing where he sort of shook them and checked them all over and Qi just smiled and kissed him and then winked at her and hugged Zhi before going to hug LoLo, who was trying to make more tea so nobody could tell he was about to cry some more.

That’s when Hemadri slithered over to Qi and wrapped herself around them, her tongue flicking in and out of her mouth, tasting the air.

Qi raised an eyebrow. “I see we’ve got a dragon now.” Their face didn’t change, but they did blink. “And apparently the dragon can talk. Into our heads.”

“She came with me, Qi,” she said, and Qi nodded.

“Of course she did.” They were quiet for a moment. “Hemadri, huh? Got it.”

She wanted to laugh, she was so happy to see Qi, so happy they were home and safe and standing there in the kitchen with a dragon wrapped around them like this was something that happened to them every day.

“I’m so angry with you,” Papa said, and he was trying to look angry but his chin was wobbling and he had his handkerchief in his hand. “It’s not just that you left me.”

“I left you in Zaofu with Yumi,” Qi said. “I knew you’d be safe. Don’t look at me like that, Wu.”

“It’s not about being safe,” Papa said, and his voice was starting to get shrill, when Hemadri interrupted.

<< **Is that your dam?** >>

<<They’re my stepmother,>> she said back in her head, tuning Papa out. <<They married Papa last year but they’ve lived with us since I was really little.>>

<< **But not your dam. Nor the dam of the tall boy.** >>

<<No, I told you, I don’t know who my birth parents are. Neither does Zhi.>>

<< **But you have a different dam and sire, you and the tall boy.** >>

<<Yeah. And so does Meili, you’ll meet her pretty soon. Although she knows who her birth parents are.>>

<< **But you are clutchmates, even still.** >>

<<Yeah, we’re brother and sister. Meili, too. Papa and Daddy adopted us. Qi didn’t adopt us but that doesn’t matter, not to me.>>

<< **So the new hatchling, the one the knifewielder carries, that will be your clutchmate as well?** >>

<<I guess, I mean…>> She blinked. “Qi? Hemadri says you’re pregnant?”

There was a sudden hush in the kitchen. Papa’s mouth sagged open and he started to sway back and forth and then Lin caught him as Daddy grabbed Qi’s arm and then all hell broke loose, everyone talking all at once, even Hemadri started chittering, wrapping herself around Qi a little tighter.

“Did you know? Did you…you went into Ba Sing Se and…” Daddy was shaking Qi, his voice getting louder and louder. “The fuck were you thinking?”

“Qi’s going to have a baby?” Zhi looked around the kitchen for confirmation. “Is that even possible? They’re a _they_.” San snorted and whispered into Zhi’s ear, and Zhi’s eyes got bigger. “Oh.”

“That’s enough,” LoLo said, and when nobody paid attention, he did something that almost never happened: LoLo raised his voice. “ENOUGH!”

Everyone immediately shut up and stared at LoLo. Papa said, “Gracious,” very faintly.

LoLo shoved Daddy away and then glared at Hemadri, who immediately slithered down off of Qi and came over to wrap herself around her waist. “You look like something a hogmonkey shat out.” LoLo cupped Qi’s cheek in his hand. “You’ve lost weight. Are you even able to keep anything down?” Qi shook their head and then, to her shock and probably everyone else’s, actually started to cry. She had never seen Qi cry before and she didn’t know what to think about it. “That’s what I thought. I’m sending you upstairs and then we’re calling the midwife.” LoLo pulled Qi in close for a hug. “I know you’ll do what’s needed for this family but now it’s my turn to do what’s needed for you. Are we clear on this?” Qi nodded into LoLo’s shoulder without saying anything. “Fine, then. I want you upstairs right now and I want you to lay down in that bed. I’ll be up in just a few minutes with some ginger tea, and we’ll get that midwife here to check you over.”

“I saw her the day they took Zhi, that’s where I was.” Qi was so quiet she could barely hear them. “That’s when I found out. I just didn’t have a chance to tell anyone. Sorry. I didn’t mean to keep it from you.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now.” LoLo kissed both of their cheeks and smiled at them. “Upstairs with you, my dear. I’ll be up in a few minutes.” Qi wiped at their eyes and then nodded, walking out of the kitchen without looking at anybody. LoLo, on the other hand, looked around the kitchen, not smiling at all. “I don’t want to hear a peep out of any of you. You all leave them alone. I don’t want anyone even going near their door. Whatever questions you have, they can wait until they’ve rested and the midwife’s been here. Am I clear?”

Everyone nodded, even Lin.

“And so help me, if I see you shake them again like that I will have your ass over it, Mako.” LoLo pointed his finger right at Daddy. “You keep that temper of yours in check, you hear me?” Before Daddy could even answer, LoLo whipped right around to point at Papa. “And you keep your hysterics to yourself. The last thing they need is you weeping and wailing at them, getting them upset when they need to be resting.” Papa’s mouth opened into a perfect O of surprise. LoLo clapped his hands together twice. “There’s going to be some changes in this house until we’ve got that baby with us, safe and sound, and I’m not going to hear a word about it from any of you.” Now he was glaring at Lin.

“I haven’t said a word!” Lin was still holding on to Papa, staring at LoLo like he’d just grown horns or something.

“Keep it that way. Now all of you get the hell out of my kitchen, I need to call the midwife and make some tea and I don’t need to listen to all of your noise about it. And you all will leave Qi alone.” LoLo pointed at the door. “Go on, now. Get!”

Without another word, all of them got. Papa started to fan himself but kept his mouth shut tight, which wasn’t like Papa at all. Papa always had to have the last word about everything. Not this, though.

Zhi was standing there, holding San’s hand, looking confused. “But LoLo never kicks us out of the kitchen. Is he angry with us? Is Qi okay?”

San frowned. “Does this mean we aren’t going to get lunch?”

Trust San to be worrying about lunch.

The midwife came, and was up in Qi’s room for a long time, and then came back down and talked to all of the adults. Zhi and San were in the garden with Hemadri - Zhi was giving her the tour, he said - and she was standing outside the door, listening in. The midwife said that Qi was having a hard time of it, that part of it was due to how malnourished they were as a child and how their chi was out of balance, and she was going to be prescribing tonics for them. She told the adults that if Qi didn’t want to lose the baby they needed to rest, that they had to take it very easy for the time being, and that they were not to be upset for any reason. Everyone was very quiet and sober at this, and after the midwife left Papa cried and Lin called Auntie Opal, who came over, listened to Lin explain everything, and then went upstairs to talk to Qi. She guessed this was because Auntie Opal was the only person around they knew that had been pregnant. Well, except for Yumi, of course.

The next week Tonraq’s ship came into port, and they were all there waiting, even Korra and even Qi, although she could see Daddy wasn’t very happy about it. When Meili started to walk down the gangplank Qi surprised them all by shoving past everyone and going right up the gangplank to pick Meili up into their arms, hugging her very tightly. Usually Qi was always the one to hang back, looking to make sure that no one was going to jump Papa or something, waiting their turn. But not this time. Qi wouldn’t put her down, either, until LoLo said something into their ear. She was waiting to hug her after everyone else did and when she did Meili whispered into her ear, “ _I was scared when they hurt you_ ,” and she whispered back, “ _But I_ _’m okay, Fishy, I promise_ ,” and Meili whispered back, “ _I_ _’m going to be a healer and then next time I can help_ ,” and sat in her lap all the way home in the car.

That night, all three of them plus Hemadri snuck up to Qi’s room. Qi was on their bed, looking very tired but when they saw them they smiled and held their arms out. They all cuddled on the bed, Meili in Qi’s arms and her on Meili’s other side and Zhi snuggled up to their back, with Hemadri managing to squeeze herself between Meili and Qi so she could rest her head on Qi’s belly. They didn’t mean to fall asleep that way but when she woke up the next morning Papa was standing at the foot of Qi’s bed, smiling down at all of them.

She was very glad to have all of her family back.

It was weird to go back to school, though, like nothing had ever happened. Like she and Sozui hadn’t visited the Sun Warriors and Hemadri hadn’t run away with her and Zhi hadn’t been kidnapped and people hadn’t died. She couldn’t even talk about it to any of her friends. They were all talking about their various crushes and homework and pro-bending and the upcoming school exhibition and all the other dumb junk she used to talk about. What was she supposed to do, sit there and say _Yeah, I didn_ _’t miss school because I was on a holiday, I saw my father kill my other father’s stepsister, sorry I didn’t get around to sending a postcard!_ It was all so stupid. She’d sit there in class every day and she just couldn’t see the point of any of it. Outside of Uthai - who of course she’d told all about everything, she could tell Uthai anything, just like Uthai could tell her - nobody at school said much of anything about the time she was gone, although a few people commented on her hair, which had been cropped so short her scalp was still showing through. Papa had been horrified into tears when he’d seen it, but she actually didn’t mind. It felt free to not have to care about it at all. There was a scar on her scalp where one of the rocks had hit her and the Fire Nation healer had stitched it up where she was told that hair would never grow again, but Papa had told her that when her hair was little bit longer she could style it so it wouldn’t show. Lin had sat on the edge of her bed one night, not long after they’d all gotten home, and had run her finger along it. _A little scar never hurt a girl_ , Lin said, running a finger along her own cheek. _Plus you can tell people whatever you want about it. Who_ _’s to know?_

Uncle Bo took over taking her and San to and from school, telling her that he was standing in for Qi. Two weeks after she went back to school he dropped her off home and everything was quiet; it was Lin and LoLo’s usual market day and Meili and Zhi were off somewhere with Papa, she guessed. She went upstairs to say hello to Qi but stopped just inside their door. She could hear the sound of vomiting - horrible, awful sounds - and then someone crying. She snuck as quietly as she could to peek into their bathroom and saw Daddy, on his knees on the floor, Qi in his arms, crying as Daddy wiped at their face with a wet towel. _We should end this_ , Daddy said, and even though she couldn’t see his face she thought he might be crying, too. Qi shook their head weakly and closed their eyes. _Qi. Qi. How long can you keep doing this? You_ _’re scaring the shit out of me. Never again, Qi. Never again._

The next morning before breakfast a midwife arrived and from then on out there was always a midwife up there with Qi. She was scared. Papa told Zhi and Meili that Qi was just tired and everything was fine, and they were young enough that they believed him. She knew better, though. Qi lay in bed all the time, pale, with their hair uncombed and in old pajamas. Uncle Wei came by every single day to sit up there with them for awhile, being all loud and cheerful the way Uncle Wei always was, holding their hand and sometimes reading them letters or magazines, but he always came downstairs looking like he wanted to cry as well. LoLo wasn’t himself either, and Papa had dark circles under his eyes and Daddy was out in the backyard a lot, smoking and pacing. Most people wouldn’t have thought Lin was any different than usual, she was her normal, grouchy self, but there was a difference between Lin pretending to be grouchy and actually being grouchy, and this was absolutely, definitely Lin being actually grouchy.

She didn’t think Papa was very happy about Hemadri staying in the house with them but she was still small yet; according to Hemadri herself it would take about five or six years for her to get to her full growth and even Papa had to allow that meant plenty of time for renovations. He told her he didn’t want any noise and bustle disturbing Qi, however, so for now Hemadri slept in her room with her. Hemadri wasn’t very happy that she had to stay home all day instead of following her to school, though. But soon enough school let out for the summer and then they had all day to spend together.

It was for her fourteenth birthday - and Daddy’s thirty-seventh - that the Firelord sent her a gift of her own samurai armor, much like Daddy’s. Sozui and his uncle brought it; they also brought Sozui’s Auntie Ursa, who was the Fire Sage that would be helping educate Hemadri. She remembered Ursa from the New Year on Ember Island and her Demi Kai. Ursa would be staying at the Fire Sage monastery that was located north of Asami’s estate and Daddy made arrangements for a car to bring her to and fro during the days when she’d be tutoring Hemadri. Ursa was tall and beautiful and very serene, much like her mother was, and Naoki liked her very much. She would sit with Naoki and Hemadri in the pavilion in the back garden, telling them stories and answering their questions. She hadn’t really thought she’d join along in Hemadri’s lessons but Papa said she may as well and she didn’t mind. She liked them a lot better than her regular school lessons, even if they were about history and politics and behaving properly at the Fire Nation court and other things she would have thought would be a lot more boring. Maybe it was the way Ursa taught, like she was actually interested in what she was telling them and truly interested in what she and Hemadri thought about it in return.

Once, she caught Ursa looking at her, with tears in her eyes. She was afraid she’d said something wrong; offended her, perhaps, or just sounded so stupid that Ursa would leave in despair. But Ursa just wiped at her eyes and smiled, telling her that she reminded her of someone very dear to her that she’d known before.

She loved her lessons with Ursa and Hemadri but the headaches she’d been getting off and on since she’d come back to Republic City, the ones that throbbed in her forehead that nothing seemed to help, started happening with more frequency. She thought maybe she was getting like Papa; he’d told her once that he started to get his headaches after he moved to Republic City and the healer he saw about them said that those kinds of headaches often came to people in their teens, once they started to get closer to adulthood. She hadn’t really said anything, though. She knew she should; they might be part of her head injury. She just didn’t want to worry anybody, that’s all. The whole house was upside down about Qi as it was. She would have continued to keep it to herself but one day during their lessons the pain got so bad that she gasped and clutched at her forehead, tears starting to leak out of her eyes. Ursa was immediately there, concerned.

“Naoki! What is it?”

“My head,” she managed, squinting her eyes against the pain. “It hurts so much.”

Ursa was on her knees before her. “What kind of pain is it? Throbbing? Or sharp?” Her hand was cool on Naoki’s cheek. Hemadri was trying to push her head into her forehead and she cried out, shoving at her. “Hemadri, be gentle, please. Naoki is in pain.” Ursa was quiet for a brief moment and then she practically jumped up. “Naoki, you need to come with me.”

“I can’t. I can’t.”

“I know it hurts, but we can’t do this here.” Ursa took her hands in hers and drew her to her feet as she cried out. “I’m so sorry, Naoki, but we must go quickly. Just a few moments, let’s go to the park across the street.” Ursa pulled her along after her, through the pavilion and across the footbridge as she whimpered, the pain excruciating, Hemadri slithering at her side, silent in her head. “I know, I am so sorry, please just hold on.”

“Hey, LoLo sent us to…” Zhi trailed off, staring at them as Ursa shoved right past him and San, walking towards them on the path.

“Zhi, San, please go into the house, right away,” Ursa said, without stopping. “It’s not safe for you to be out here. Make sure Meili is in the house as well. Stay there until I tell you it is safe.”

“But I-”

“Now, boys!” Ursa’s tone was sharp and full of command and Zhi and San glanced at each other and then ran back towards the house as Ursa practically dragged her towards the gate that led to the garage. “Hurry, Naoki. Hurry!”

She was panting with the pain now, tears pouring out of her, her eyes practically screwed shut. It felt like her entire head was going to explode, she couldn’t bear it any longer. “Daddy,” she whimpered, and hardly noticed as Hemadri launched away from them, slithering at full speed towards the house.

“Yes, you’re doing so well, just a bit further, try to hold it in, Naoki, we’re nearly there.” Ursa’s grip was tight and she sped them up, practically carrying her when she stumbled. Through the gate they went, past the side entrance that led into the kitchen, past the garage and down the long driveway. She wanted to follow, she wanted to do what Ursa was asking, but she slammed to her knees on the driveway, screaming. Ursa dropped down behind her and put her hands to either side of her head, turning it slightly so that she was facing the park. “Let it go, Naoki. It’s safe now, let it go.”

“I don’t know…I can’t…it hurts,” she screamed, shaking all over.

“Naoki!” Daddy shouted, but Ursa cut him off.

“No! Stay back, Mako, it isn’t safe. Are there any cars or people about that I can’t see? Are we clear?”

“It’s clear,” Daddy said. “What the fuck is-”

Her head exploded. Heat poured out from her forehead as she screamed, recoiling from the light but Ursa’s hands were holding tightly to her head, not allowing her to move. She continued to scream as part of their driveway and half of the street exploded, instinctively throwing her arms up against the shrapnel but Ursa grabbed them before she could.

“Don’t cover your face, Mitsu!” Ursa held her still until the heat and light were gone before taking in a deep, ragged breath. “How is your head? Is it better?”

She nodded carefully. “It doesn’t hurt any more.” She blinked and took her hand away from Ursa to press her fingers to her forehead. She poked around at herself. “It’s okay now.”

Daddy went down on his knees next to her and gathered her up into his arms, holding her tight. “This too?” She thought he was speaking to her but he wasn’t. “When does it end for her?”

“If I had realized I would have never let it get this far,” Ursa said, stroking gently along her head. “It usually manifests with puberty but it’s so rare, it’s not like we even go looking for it in the Fire Nation.” She leaned forward and kissed the side of Naoki’s head. “I’ll radio my mother tonight, Mako. We’ll have to train her, she’ll be a danger to herself as well as everyone else until she learns to control it.”

“Shit,” Daddy said, and he sighed and then grunted as Hemadri wedged her way into the hug.

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she said, her voice gone all small and wobbly, but Daddy just hugged her even more tightly.

“Nothing to be sorry about, Butterfly. It’s not like you did it to yourself.” He kissed her forehead, several times. “Driveways can be fixed.”

“You saw P’Li in action, yes?” Ursa was still holding onto her head.

“Yeah,” Daddy said.

“So you understand how we’ll have to train her.” Ursa was apologetic. “I’m not sure if we can do it here.”

“I know. It is what it is.”

“I’m not going anywhere, not until Qi has the baby,” she said, and she pulled away from both Daddy and Ursa. “You can’t make me.”

“It’s not a decision anyone will be making tonight,” Ursa said. “But Naoki, you must promise me something. You must give me your word of honor.”

She stared at Ursa, who was looking almost fearful, which wasn’t at all like her. “What is it?”

“If your head starts to hurt like this again you must immediately tell me or Mako. It doesn’t matter when or where you are. Combustionbending shouldn’t cause you pain like that and it won’t, once you are fully trained. But until then, you will be very dangerous. Your father or I will help you to release the pressure if needed but it’s not safe for you to do on your own.”

She nodded solemnly. “I give my word of honor. As a Hou-Ting.” Both Daddy and Ursa nodded at that. She glanced at the still smoking rubble of their driveway and the street. “Papa is going to freak out.”

“Prince Consort!”

Daddy’s eyes closed as he winced. “Here we go.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Madame Zong was standing with her walking stick at the edge of their driveway, glaring at the damage.

“It’s my fault, Madame Zong,” she called. “I kind of combustionbended.”

“Kind of?” Madame Zong rapped her stick. “Did you or did you not combustionbend? Commit to a single answer, Princess, no one appreciates a wishy-washy royal.”

“Uh. I did. But it was my first time.”

Madame Zong huffed at this. “Well, you certainly made a mess of it. I assume they will get you some training so that an old woman can, in the future, finish her naps in peace?” Ursa stood and walked to Madame Zong, who bowed at her, very stiffly.

“My lady?” Ursa watched her for a moment. “I’m certain you must be.”

“Madame Zong is fine,” Madame said, and Ursa watched her a little longer before bowing her head respectfully.

“My honor to meet you, Madame Zong. I am Ursa of the Fire Sages.”

Madame Zong bowed again. “Your Highness.”

“What on earth!” Papa was walking rapidly down the driveway, his eyes nearly popping out of his head, hand to his heart. “What has happened! Have the gas lines exploded? Have the spirits been about? My gracious!”

“No, it was me, sorry, Papa.” She gave him a little grin and a thumbs up.

Papa scowled. “You will explain yourself, young lady.”

“Your daughter is a combustionbender, Prince Wu,” Madame Zong called, looking very pleased with herself. “What do you have to say to that?”

Papa’s mouth dropped open. “What the FUCK,” he screeched in his snooty Ba Sing Se accent and she started to laugh.

Right before she fell asleep that night she remembered that Ursa had called her by the wrong name. She meant to ask about it, but by the time morning had come she had already forgotten.

They did want her to go to the Fire Nation to train but she put her foot down; in the end, Daddy spoke to Asami and she, Hemadri and Ursa relocated to the empty Sato Estate during the days. Asami came to see them on the first day and hugged her and told her not to worry if there were any accidents, that anything that got destroyed could be replaced. Not that she was trying to destroy anything! But she hadn’t been trying that first time, either. She thought that Ursa would help train her but she didn’t, really. She just kept up with the history and politics and Fire Nation customs like she had before. She asked Ursa about training and Ursa got this sort of exasperated look on her face and told her that her mother was sending someone, they were waiting for him.

In her experience, Fire Nation teachers were no-nonsense, serious, more the stick than the carrot. She’d always been more than a little jealous of how Sitiak and Kya were with Meili; there was plenty of encouragement, hugs, gentle enthusiasm, lots of praise. Ursa was a very calm woman and she liked her very much but there was no mistaking when she was being her teacher as opposed to a guest at dinner. So it was with great surprise that she met Sir Shota, the only other combustionbender in the world.

He was a short old man with an enormous belly, a scraggly beard, untidy clothes, and dirty toes that stuck out of his sandals. He did have the traditional topknot, but his hairline was receding dangerously and he had a distracting habit of sticking his pinkie into his hairy ear and rooting around for ear wax.

He also, the first morning when he was introduced, had a terrific hangover, blinking blearily at her and belching before releasing a tremendous fart, at which point his lip curled up. “Whoo, that one’ll burn the hairs out of your nose.” His accent was, as Papa would say, not quite up to par. He sniffed at the air and then waved his hand in front of his face. “We might want to take this outside.”

She wanted to laugh so badly that her stomach started to hurt with holding it in but Ursa got a look on her face that she recognized from Sozui, like she’d happily murder the man and then dance on his grave. Which did not help the whole laughing situation.

“Sir Shota,” Ursa said, her tone furious, “I will remind you that this is the oldest Hou-Ting princess. You will show her the proper respect.”

“You can’t fool me,” he said, digging that pinkie right on in there. “Hou-Ting my ass. She’s Fire Nation or else I’ll eat my own knob.” She bit on her tongue to stop her laughter.

“She is adopted, as I am very certain my brother informed you when he brought you here.” The air around Ursa had heated up a few degrees.

“Sure, sure, might have mentioned it. Well listen, you ladies can stay here if you want but I just let another one go and I gotta tell you, I haven’t had a decent shit in a week, never could shit on a boat.” He wandered towards the door and walked out, but not before calling back, “You can get fire whiskey here in this barbaric place, right?”

Ursa turned to her, taking in a deep breath. “Naoki, I am so sorry. If there were anyone else at all available my mother would have sent them instead, but he is the only other combustionbender alive. Sir Shota is…” Ursa seemed at a loss for words. “He’s not quite…”

“He’s not royalty-approved?” How she managed to keep a straight face she did not know.

“No. He most certainly is not.” Ursa took in another deep breath, clearly struggling. “If you would give me a moment, I need to speak to him. I’ll call you when we are ready to start the lesson.” Ursa strode out the door; as soon as she was clear Naoki sat right down on the floor and laughed until her sides ached.

<< **I like him,** >> Hemadri announced. << **Although he does smell terrible.** >>

“He’s the worst,” she agreed, and kept on laughing.

Sir Shota never did behave much better, despite Ursa’s restrained and not so restrained comments. (Once she got so angry when he showed up still drunk to their lesson that she shot a lightning bolt at the old man. Poor Ursa. It wasn’t very Fire Sage of her.) Sir Shota was rude and uncouth but he did help her to understand what was happening to her and how to control it. The only time she ever saw him completely serious, however, was when she asked him why he didn’t have the traditional third eye tattoo on his forehead. He frowned at that point and met her eyes. _It_ _’s only traditional in that it’s the mark of a slave,_ he said, and sighed. _Warlords in the Fire Nation would enslave combustionbenders as soon as they started to show their powers and they sure as shit never let them go. Warlords used to go to war over who would own combustionbenders, that_ _’s how much they wanted us. Our history ain’t a pretty one, Princess. I wasn’t tattooed because Firelord Zuko outlawed slavery and he found out about me when I was just a sprat, not much bigger than you, and he made sure everybody knew I was under his protection. Didn’t mean warlords didn’t try it! But he was watching for it, he had palace spies keeping an eye and ear out, just like Firelord Izumi does now. The only reason poor little P’Li was enslaved was because the Firelord didn’t know about her until it was too late. There was another combustionbender born before P’Li but he died when his power first came to him, didn’t know how to control it and killed himself and his whole family._ He took her hand in his. _I_ _’m an old man, I am. I won’t last much longer. It’ll be up to you to be watching and waiting so you can train the next one. That’s what we do, combustionbenders. We help the next one that comes along. You’ll do a sight better job of it than me, I can tell you that much. You’re going to make a good teacher one day, am I right, Princess Ursa?_

 _Yes, she will be,_ Ursa said and smiled at her.

She picked up the training quickly, like she picked up most things. Sir Shota wasn’t much of a teacher - no discipline, for one thing and no understanding of how to make himself clear, for another - and he was a pretty poor excuse for a firebender, what with being born a peasant and never really getting any training for it as a boy. She, on the other hand, had been training since she was two years old. She had discipline and more and she worked hard at mastering this new skill, just as hard as she worked at mastering any other. She understood that if her chi was blocked through her third eye she’d be in danger of misfiring and on her own she worked up defensive moves, grabbing San to show her some typical earthbending stances. In return she helped San learn to manipulate his own chi better to improve his lavabending. She knew she’d never take Zhi’s place in his heart (not that she was trying) but the two of them shared the common experience of being the oldest bending children of some of the best benders in the world. Both she and San wanted to succeed and make their fathers proud.

Sir Shota told her that there were limits to what she could do with her combustionbending, but she didn’t really believe in that kind of thing. She knew Daddy wouldn’t talk to her about it, but she asked Korra about P’Li and Korra told her about what she’d seen the woman do, including making the flow of heat from her head curve itself instead of taking a direct shot, something Sir Shota claimed couldn’t be done. She worked on that one with just Hemadri present, shooting heat into the big pit area Uncle Bo had bent for her in a corner of the Sato Estate where she could practice safely without destroying anything important. If P’Li could do it then she could do it, simple as that.

She was tired, though. She still had her training with Yumi and her regular firebending training and lessons with Ursa every day and now the combustionbending training as well. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do when school started up again; there just weren’t enough hours in the day. She was worried about Qi and couldn’t seem to turn her mind off every night in order to get to sleep, either. She’d lay there, staring up at her ceiling, Hemadri tucked into her side, willing herself to sleep. It didn’t work, though. Finally, she thought she’d ask Papa about it, since she knew he often had trouble sleeping. Papa gave her such a look when she asked, like he was a little shocked, before giving himself a little shake and telling her that there was some tea he drank that helped but that also he thought they needed to clear up some of her schedule for a bit. She tried to protest that she could handle it all but Papa merely kissed her and told her that he thought not. When she asked him why he had given her such a funny look his smile was a little sad. _You so very rarely ask me for help, my love, it_ _’s usually your father or Qi or Lin. I was a little surprised, that’s all. But never mind. I will speak with your father and the three of us can decide together how to make things easier on you right now._

She thought about what Papa had said. Was it true? Did she never ask Papa for help? She supposed it was because Papa wasn’t a warrior. She never thought of him as having information that she, in particular, could use. On the other hand, her Papa had become a king and dismantled his entire nation before abdicating, and he did all of that before he was twenty-three years old. If she really thought about it, she could see why Papa was, in his own way, a mighty warrior as well. Certainly Papa knew so much about statecraft, about how to negotiate and compromise and stand up for himself if people tried to take advantage of him. It was probably why he was such a good Pai Sho player. When she said something to Qi about it, laying on their bed next to them, Hemadri’s head in her usual place on Qi’s hugely swollen belly, they gave her a tired smile. _Your father plays the long game,_ they said. _People don_ _’t take him seriously and they dismiss him because of who he is on the outside and he lets them, because it serves his purposes. But your father’s smart and he’s canny and he knows how to bide his time to get what he wants. You could learn from him._

In the end, they decided that for the time being, she would focus on her combustionbending and her lessons with Hemadri and Ursa. Papa said that when school started again she could take a temporary leave; Zhi’s tutor, Mathuram, could keep her up and she could go back to school a little later than the rest. Papa thought she could just stop going to Plumwood Academy altogether and learn at home with Zhi but she didn’t want that. She had her friends there, after all. She was afraid that Yumi might be upset with her for taking a break from the dojo but Yumi wasn’t, not at all. Yumi said she thought the break would do her some good, that she’d be refreshed and ready to go when she came back. She still did her firebending forms every morning with Ursa and Hemadri, though. Hemadri wasn’t producing very much flame but Ursa explained to them both that it was natural, dragons needed to mature and grow before they could sustain enough breath to really shoot some fire, the same way she’d have to wait for her wings to grow before she could start to learn to fly. Hemadri wasn’t very happy with that answer and went and clawed down an entire tree at the Sato Estate to relieve her feelings. (When Papa got wind of it he scolded her and made her apologize to Asami. When Ursa found out she was horrified and said something to Papa about it being inappropriate to scold dragons but Papa ignored her, just like he always did when he didn’t want to hear what people had to say.)

School started and San went without her; her hair was starting to grow back and she had enough control over her combustionbending that she was able to bend at will, although she was still working on her aim and still working on being able to sustain her bending longer than a second or two. Hemadri was able to eat an entire koalasheep in one sitting, even if she would just lay on her back afterward, belly full and snoring (which wasn’t something you’d think a dragon would do but apparently so). Sir Shota - who had been shocked at how fast she was learning, he kept commenting on it - declared he had nothing more to teach her and announced he’d be damned if he was going to spend all winter in Republic City and Sozui’s Uncle Iroh came and picked him up. He also took Ursa with him. She said there were things she needed to attend to with the Fire Sages but she’d be back in the spring to continue their lessons. (She thought that Ursa, much like Sir Shota, would also be damned if she spent all winter in Republic City.) Lin drove her and Hemadri to the Sato Estate every morning so they could practice and then brought her back in the afternoon, where she’d work with Mathuram to make sure she was caught up at school.

She was sleeping better now, at least.

It was less than a week after Rohan came to tell them that Ikki had had her baby, a little girl they named Katara, when Hemadri woke her in the very early morning.

<< **The new clutchmate is coming!** >>

She jumped out of bed and ran upstairs, where the midwife was talking to Papa, standing outside Qi’s door.

“It’s too early,” Papa was saying, wringing his hands. He was only in his pajamas, no dressing gown or slippers.

The midwife put her hand to his arm. “It’s a little early, yes, but not dangerously so. Babies come when they come, Prince Wu. Now it will be awhile, so there is no need to be alarmed. Your Majordomo has the telephone number of my assistant, if he could call her and let her know that labor has started she will come immediately. He knows what else is needed.”

“Yes, yes, of course, of course,” Papa said, but he just stood there, looking lost.

“I can go wake up LoLo,” she said, and Papa and the midwife glanced at her. The midwife smiled.

“That would be very helpful, thank you.”

LoLo did know exactly what to do; he called the midwife’s assistant and then busied himself about the kitchen, telling her to go and fetch Papa for his breakfast. Once the assistant had arrived he gave her some sort of tea which she took up with her and Naoki followed her upstairs to get dressed, meeting their valet coming out of Zhi’s room with a small bag. That was because LoLo had also called Uncle Bolin, who came by to pick up Meili and Zhi to take them to his house to keep them out of the way. Uncle Bo was going to take her as well but she refused. She wasn’t going anywhere. After some discussion with the midwives Daddy went into Qi’s room and didn’t come out, which left her sitting downstairs with Papa, LoLo and Lin. She wasn’t sure where Hemadri was but she assumed she was in the back garden somewhere. Maybe tormenting poor old Bob.

Papa was a mess. He’d managed to get dressed but he hadn’t shaved and his hair had just been combed back without any of its usual pomade and styling. He was chattering nonstop at Lin about she didn’t even know what, she knew he was only saying something because he was nervous. Lin knew it too, which was a good thing, as she was just being patient instead of telling Papa to zip it like she normally would.

Hours passed. LoLo took a meal up and then came back down, looking worried but refusing to say anything. Lin paced and Papa fretted and Daddy didn’t reappear. She didn’t know what to do with herself; she tried to read a book but couldn’t concentrate and didn’t want to go and do any of her firebending forms for fear that she’d miss something. When the phone rang they all jumped; it was Granny Su, calling to see if there were any updates. She knew because Auntie Opal had called her. Then Papa got on the phone with Auntie Nuo and started jabbering at her for awhile but he was calmer when he hung up, like he usually was when Auntie Nuo smacked him into shape. 

They just kept waiting, well into the night. LoLo called for dinner to be delivered but all of them just picked at it, although LoLo took some upstairs. He didn’t have any news for them when he came back down, except to say that Qi was still laboring but that Daddy was helping them and Hemadri was there. She was more than a little surprised at that. Why would Hemadri care? It wasn’t as if it were her baby, after all. As it was she had been completely disgusted at the idea of live childbirth, saying more than once that having eggs was a far better way of taking care of things. She’d told Hemadri she was talking out of her ass and they’d had a fight and hadn’t talked to each other for an entire day. Hemadri had a lot of opinions for someone who was barely a year old. They made up, though. They couldn’t stay mad at each other very long.

She was dozing against Papa’s shoulder when a thin, wailing cry broke the silence. Papa gasped and jerked up; Lin came right of her chair to stand, fists clenched. They waited, listening to the crying, until it tapered off. Papa stood and started to wring his hands again but then Daddy came into the room, carrying a very tiny bundle in his arms. He was exhausted and rumpled but he looked happy.

“Qi?” LoLo said, and his voice shook.

“It took a lot out of them but they’ll be okay, the midwife said,” Daddy replied. “They’re dealing with the afterbirth now.” He turned to Papa, who was standing there with his fist to his mouth, crying. “You going to stand there or come and take your daughter?” He smiled at Papa.

Papa started to sob then, stumbling forward and taking the baby from Daddy, cradling her close. “Oh my gracious,” he whispered, staring down at the baby, who was squinting up at him, looking like she’d been through hell. She guessed she had, at that. “Oh my love, oh my darling, darling princess.” She came and stood next to him. “This is your eldest sister, my darling.”

“Hi baby,” she said, and she couldn’t stop grinning.

“And this is your grandfather, my love.” Papa handed the baby to Lozan, who wasn’t even trying to hide his tears.

“Well now, look at you.” LoLo brushed the softest of kisses on the baby’s forehead and she wrinkled up her face and made a cooing noise. “All this fuss over you, hmmm?”

“Hmph.” Lin had her arms crossed and was trying very, very hard to look like she didn’t care. Nobody was fooled, of course. Daddy came and put an arm around her. “You’d think a baby being born was a big deal or something.” She snorted. “Is she going to get a name?”

Papa took her back from LoLo and smiled down at her. “Sayuri.”

“Sayuri?” Lin raised an eyebrow.

“We’ve named all the girls for our mothers. This one can be named for Qi’s mother. It’s the only choice, really.”

“Qi’s mother was named Sayuri?” She leaned in so she could gently stroke her sister’s chest.

“She was, yes,” Papa replied softly. He started to sway back and forth. “My little lily flower,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “You’ve had an extraordinarily hard day of it, my love. Close your eyes and go to sleep and when you wake up you’ll be back with your mother.”

The baby closed her eyes and made a soft whuffling noise.

“Mako, at least let me fix you a plate,” LoLo said, blowing his nose into his handkerchief. “I know you didn’t touch a bit of that food I sent up.” Daddy started to say something but Lin gave him a shove.

“Go on, eat something. We should call Opal, at least.” Daddy wavered but then followed LoLo towards the kitchen.

“Oh of course, we need to let Opal know.” Papa said, glancing up from her sister. “We can make an official announcement in the morning but family can’t wait.” He turned to her. “Would you mind holding her for a moment while I call your aunt?”

“Sure, Papa,” she said, and he carefully put the baby into her arms.

“Thank you, my darling.” Papa kissed her cheek. “I’ll just be a few moments.”

“I’ll go and see if the midwives need anything,” Lin said, and headed for the stairs.

She sat down on the sofa, adjusting her sister until they were both comfortable. “You’re awesome,” she told her sister, who kept right on sleeping.

<< **It takes far too long for humans to be born.** >> Hemadri slithered her way up to perch on the sofa next her, her tongue tasting the air around the baby. << **Her dam is very tired. There was very much blood and pain. But I informed the small queen that if she would only hurry and come forth I would be waiting for her.** >>

She had to laugh at that. “Just you, hmmm? Not the rest of us?”

Hemadri’s tongue flickered. << **This one is a queen, as am I.** >>

“She’s not a queen any longer. There isn’t a Hou-Ting throne any longer.” Hemadri didn’t bother replying to that, just leaned in to make her motor noise next to Sayuri’s head. “You’re just stuck with me, I guess. A half-assed princess.”

<< **I have chosen you and that is how it will be until you die and I return to my own people. We are together. I like this small queen, however.** >>

“Weirdo.”

<< **Weirdo yourself.** >>

She and Hemadri sat together and watched her baby sister sleep.


End file.
